Porfirio Díaz

The telephone reached Mexico in 1878, barely two years after its invention, during Porfirio Díaz’s first term as president. Díaz is remembered for inaugurating the new technology with a call between the National Palace and Chapultepec Castle, his two seats of government. His long rule, known as the Porfiriato, embraced modernization: railroads, telegraph lines and electricity expanded dramatically across the country.